Chapter 7
The Adventurers’ Guild.
A place in the Labyrinth City that, according to Suyeon, was just like a real game.
When they opened the cowboy-style doors straight out of a Western, they found the Adventurers’ Guild bustling with receptionists and adventurers, all talking noisily.
“Wow, it really is like a game.”
“What is?”
“Everything, from top to bottom.”
“I guess you could say that, but to me it just looks like a job agency.”
“A job agency... Isn’t that really just a place to find day labor?”
“The meaning’s the same, but people treat them differently. This Labyrinth City lives more comfortably than other regions thanks to the goods that come out of the Labyrinth. The clothes you wear, the food you eat, even the homes you live in are made from materials found in Labyrinth dungeons.”
“That’s why it feels even more like a game.”
As Suyeon and Seonghyeon talked near the entrance, an Adventurers’ Guild receptionist approached them.
Wearing the standard Adventurers’ Guild uniform and sporting a gentle-looking face, she came over, and Suyeon slowly hid behind Seonghyeon.
Maybe it was because she was a stranger, but more than anything, she was a ‘big sis.’
Suyeon was afraid of women, having never talked to one before.
“Oh my? Aren’t you Mr. Raine! Welcome. What brings you to the Adventurers’ Guild?”
“Yes, I’m here to exchange the magic stones I got from the dungeon and look for a quest. And...”
Seonghyeon grabbed Suyeon by the nape.
Suyeon had been trying to sneak away, but Seonghyeon’s strength left no choice but to pull along.
Suyeon ended up standing right in front of Seonghyeon, and the receptionist ‘big sis’ smiled brightly at them.
“Oh my! What a cute slave!”
“Ugh... <H-hello!>”
Suyeon’s face had gone beyond pale and turned white as a sheet. They stammered, even making a tongue-biting sound as they spoke.
Seonghyeon shrugged at Suyeon’s reaction, then gave the receptionist ‘big sis’ an awkward smile.
“Yes, they’re a slave. They’re a Sorcerer, but it seems they can’t allocate their stats, so...”
“Ah! Status! You mean the Extra points that show up in the status window?”
The receptionist clasped her hands together and looked at Seonghyeon with a kind expression.
Suyeon was horrified to realize that the receptionist ‘big sis’ was directing her honey-sweet voice and gaze at Seonghyeon.
Seonghyeon couldn’t help grinning, and Suyeon wanted to stomp hard on his foot, but...
Suyeon had a man’s pride and didn’t want to pull some petty stunt in front of a ‘big sis’ like that, so they managed to hold back.
“Unlike ordinary adventurers, only a slave’s master can open their status window.”
“Uh... Is that so? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Slaves usually aren’t made into adventurers, after all. Why don’t you come this way? Sometimes slaves allocate their stats carelessly and end up going down the wrong path, right? That’s why the slave mark transfers ownership of the slave’s status window.”
“Ah... I see.”
As Seonghyeon followed the receptionist, Suyeon followed him, half-frozen.
The receptionist continued explaining as she led them somewhere.
“So you’ll have to allocate the slave’s stats yourself.”
“Could you tell me how to do that?”
“Of course. That’s why I’m taking you with me. Though sometimes slaves scream very loudly, so we’re going somewhere soundproof.”
What sort of thing required soundproofing?
Seonghyeon, the Cleric Raine, was still a rookie adventurer in his first year, and the question made him curious.
At the same time, he was grateful that Suyeon couldn’t understand the receptionist ‘big sis.’
If Suyeon understood, Seonghyeon might have to catch them as they ran away and force them to allocate their stats right then and there.
The place they arrived at with the receptionist ‘big sis’ was a private room with thick wooden walls.
There were blood spatters and damp stains on the floor, and it looked like the sort of place where mold would soon start to stink up the walls.
As soon as the door opened, Suyeon’s legs began to tremble, and they clung tightly to Seonghyeon.
“Hey... what the... hell... Why did we come to a place like this?”
“She said you’re a slave, so I have to allocate your stats for you.”
“What? Then why did we come here?!”
“Well, I had something to ask.”
He’d already heard it from the receptionist, but if he told Suyeon the truth, they’d obviously run away.
On the other hand, he couldn’t think of a plausible excuse.
Just then, the receptionist ‘big sis’ asked Seonghyeon first.
“Huh? Are you speaking to your slave in Elvish?”
“Hmm... It’s not Elvish. We have a language only the two of us know. I mean, as you know, I’m an outsider, right?”
“Ah! You said you came from some Labyrinth in the east. I know. You’re famous, Mr. Raine. So is the elf from a Labyrinth in the east, too?”
“Well, as it turned out, we had the same hometown. Haha.”
Seonghyeon casually brushed off the receptionist ‘big sis’s’ misunderstanding with an excuse.
And now that he’d thought of an excuse, Seonghyeon answered Suyeon.
“Looks like opening someone else’s status window must be a huge secret. This place is perfect for talking about secrets, isn’t it?”
“It... does look a bit like the criminal underworld.”
“Isn’t that a bit much?”
“No, it looks plenty like the criminal underworld.”
“Well, you did have a rough time in that sort of place.”
“Tch... Must be nice, only working on the bright side.”
“The Labyrinth is plenty dark, too.”
While the two of them talked, the receptionist ‘big sis’ handed them a blue stone wrapped in cloth.
Seonghyeon knew what the stone was. He’d seen the other party members fiddling with one before; it was called an ice crystal.
“You’ve seen one of these before, too, haven’t you, Mr. Raine?”
“Yes, I have.”
“This is an ice crystal. It’s a stone used to open your own status window. I didn’t give you one, Mr. Raine, since you could use your status window from the start, but people usually use an ice crystal to open theirs. It’s also the gem embedded in the token given to new adventurers.”
“Ah... That’s right.”
For some reason, Seonghyeon had been able to open his status window freely.
Was this a stone he was supposed to give Suyeon?
Or maybe Suyeon couldn’t open it because of the slave contract.
No. Putting together what Suyeon had told him, they’d never seen a status window since coming to this world.
That meant they’d need the ice crystal if they ever ended the slave contract.
“But I can see this slave’s status window?”
“...Pardon? You can?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, wow! That’s the first time I’ve seen a case like that! I’ve heard it happens occasionally, though. Then we can skip straight to how to allocate the Extra points! Ice crystals cost money, as you know.”
“Ah... Right.”
Ice crystals were quite expensive.
How much would a stone cost if, back in his previous life, it could quantify your abilities and show them as numbers, then let you adjust those numbers to suddenly gain strength or stamina, improve your Mental Fortitude so you could endure darkness better, or even boost your Charm and make your face prettier?
Even aside from those unusual abilities, ice crystals were rare, since they appeared in the lower levels, between the middle and deep levels.
They were the first thing recovered from dead adventurers, after all.
“Then shall we open the slave’s status window?”
“Yes.”
Hearing the receptionist ‘big sis,’ Seonghyeon looked at Suyeon and spoke in Korean.
“Hey, she says to lie down here.”
“Whe...re?”
“Here.”
“On this desk?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait, really? Here? How am I supposed to lie down?”
“I mean, you have to open your status window. Either way, I have to put my hand near your chest, right? Do you really want me touching your chest?”
“Y-you... you gay bastard...”
“I’m not, so don’t worry. I’m touching your back. Your back. So lie down.”
“Can’t I just turn around?”
“Suyeon.”
“Yeah, what?”
“I can’t see the status window if you turn around.”
“Huh?”
“Think about it. When I open my status window, I bring it up against my chest, right? Then I read it while looking down. So it appears perpendicular to my chest.”
“Uh... I think I more or less get it.”
“So if you’re standing up, the Adventurers’ Guild receptionist over there won’t be able to see it, right?”
“Ugh... Fine, I’ll lie down.”
Suyeon glared at the receptionist like she was a nurse smiling as she prepared to give someone a shot in the butt, then slowly lay down on the desk.
Seonghyeon lightly patted Suyeon’s back and spoke the magic words.
“Status window.”
“Ngh...”
Suyeon’s status window appeared.
Suyeon felt strangely as if all their secrets were being exposed.
“Ah, yes, I can see it! The Extra point.”
“Right? Can I allocate it for them?”
“Yes! So this slave will be going on adventures with you, Mr. Raine? The Adventurers’ Guild should know about it, too, so shall I write it down?”
“Yes, please do.”
“Kkh...”
With Seonghyeon’s permission, the receptionist began diligently copying Suyeon’s status window onto the paper she’d brought.
Suyeon clenched their fists, trembled, and squeezed their eyes shut.
“Ah... How long... do I have to... stay like this?”
“Just wait a little longer.”
<Yes, I’ve written everything down!>
“She says she’s done.”
<Then I’ll explain how to allocate a slave’s Extra points.>
With Seonghyeon’s permission, the Adventurers’ Guild receptionist reached out over Suyeon’s status window.
Suyeon visibly jumped in surprise, then began trembling all over.
“Aaaaah! What are you doing? Stop! Stop iiiit! Ahahaha!”
Whether she was ticklish or just twisting around and screaming so violently, Seonghyeon had no choice but to grab Suyeon’s slender waist.
Unable to move at all, Suyeon had to endure it until the Extra point was assigned to Mental Fortitude.
Suyeon later said the experience had been so horrifying, disgusting, embarrassing, and humiliating that there was no way they could have endured it without screaming.